Banli came in through the side door and asked, "My lady, a downpour is coming. Should we hurry back?"
Lady Lu, Zhang Wenwan, said, "Foolish boy. Naturally, we must wait until the wind and rain have passed before going back."
"Yes, yes." Banli withdrew from the main hall.
The gale swept over the hall's double-eaved hip-and-gable roof with a mournful howl, accompanied by the sharp clatter of broken tiles striking the ground.
The monk Tanyi said, "What a wind! Good devotees, please excuse this humble monk. I must inspect the other halls, lest the wind tear off tiles and let the rain in." With that, he hurried away.
The dark clouds pressed lower and lower. Inside the hall, it grew as dim as dusk, making the lamps before the Buddha shine all the brighter. Looking at the row of seven lotus-shaped Longevity Lamps, Chen Caozhi could not help thinking of Lingyin Temple beside Mingsheng Lake back home. In that temple stood the Longevity Lamp his mother had pledged for him fourteen years ago. Because of that lamp, two souls separated by a thousand years had merged into the present Chen Caozhi. Four years had passed since then-
Chen Caozhi approached the Buddha and knelt on a rush cushion to pray silently.
Lu Weiwei glanced at her stepmother, then went over and knelt beside Chen Caozhi, pressing her palms together in prayer.
Gu Kaizhi and Lady Lu sat talking beside a small pinewood table by the western wall. Lady Lu recounted amusing stories from the childhood of her niece Zhang Tongyun, and Gu Kaizhi listened with relish. At seven, he had accompanied his father Gu Yuezhi on a visit to the Zhang residence and met Zhang Tongyun. She was his age, a little girl as pure as ice and radiant as